The Black Elfstone

The world feels so rich and immersive, but I wonder how much was planned out beforehand versus discovered during writing. Did the characters guide the story or vice versa?

The story seemed to take a breather before ramping up again, which made me curious if that was intentional to build tension or just the natural flow of the story.

It feels like such a powerful and mysterious artifact—I'm curious if it has roots in myth or if it was a purely creative invention for this series.